Read More

And in a bizarre turn of phrase, he adds: “Strange really, the reality of my life is so much more interesting yet it has been buried.”

Cannan, who denies any involvement in 25-year-old estate agent Suzy’s disappearance, wrote to a woman penpal from top security Full Sutton jail, near York.

The letter is dated November 6, eight days after a search began at his mother’s former house in Sutton Coldfield, West Mids. Police are probing a theory that Suzy was buried in a garage inspection pit which was then filled with concrete.

Suzy – pronounced dead, presumed murdered, in 1994 – vanished in 1986 after leaving her office to show a property to a client known only as Mr Kipper in Fulham, South West London.

Cannan is said to have jokingly used the name Mr Kipper to a girlfriend – and bail hostel pals nicknamed him Kipper for eating smelly fish and sleeping much of the day.

Read More

And a criminologist says a red Ford Sierra later retrieved by police had traces of Cannan’s and Suzy’s DNA.

But in his prison note Cannan claims he is “powerless” to protest his innocence. He writes: “The police ­assassination of me has upset me deeply. Worse, I am in no position to reply to it so I feel powerless.”

Last week a 1987 dating video emerged showing suited Cannan sneering and smiling as he spoke about his ideal woman.

The film for Suitor Dating Agency was just six weeks before he was arrested for abducting and murdering newlywed Shirley Banks in Bristol.

Cannan’s appearance is in marked contrast to the dishevelled and wild police mugshot taken after his arrest over Shirley’s murder. In the video he described his perfect woman as actress Stephanie Beacham and said he wanted to find “somebody natural, nice and pleasant, somebody with character... somebody who’s easy and relaxed to be with”.

Cannan – jailed for the 1987 killing of Shirley Banks, 29 – writes: “At the time I was living my life very much in the shadows because of what I was doing, so take nothing at face value” (Image: PA)

But he also snarled about being turned off by the “inflated egos” and “inner weakness” of some women.

Cannan writes about the dating video in his letter to the penpal.

He says: “Well actually, I never asked to meet any woman from that agency.

“It wasn’t quite what you think. Actually do not believe much of what you’re reading or seeing on telly. A lot of it I dispute.”

Cannan thanks his female friend for a “kind letter” she wrote to him – and even says he would buy her a villa if he won the lottery.

He also discusses his own appearance, writing: “Physically I haven’t changed much. I piled on weight for a few years but I’ve since lost it again.”

Police are searching for Suzy’s body (Image: REX/Shutterstock)

Cannan is serving three life sentences – for Shirley’s murder in October 1987, attempted kidnap of a woman the previous night and raping a woman in Reading a year earlier.

He was captured when he robbed a dress shop assistant at knifepoint three weeks after Shirley vanished.

A road tax disc from Shirley’s car was found in Cannan’s black BMW. It led to the discovery of her Mini Clubman in his garage at a block of flats where he lived in Clifton, Bristol.

The car had a false plate – SLP 386S, a suspected reference to Suzy’s name and the year she vanished.

Cannan was given a whole life sentence at Exeter Crown Court in April 1989, but it was commuted on appeal to a 35-year minimum tariff. He is eligible for parole in four years.

‘Sympathy grabber’ killer

EXCLUSIVE

By Patrick Hill

A criminologist says Cannan’s note to a woman penpal reveals his need to be in control and feel important.

Christopher Berry-Dee, 71, wrote a book about Cannan after receiving nearly 100 letters from the killer.

Berry-Dee, who has quizzed 30 serial killers and is now director of the Criminology Research Centre, told the Sunday Mirror: “This letter is pure manipulation by Cannan.

Christopher Berry-Dee (Image: Ian Tuttle)

“It’s a sympathy grabber towards the woman’s maternal instinct, with him claiming he’s helpless in jail.

“And him promising to buy her a villa is classic Cannan b******t. It couldn’t be a drink or a dress could it? With Cannan it has to be a villa. He’s also suggesting ‘I have so much to tell you, so many secrets’, but it’s just an attempt to control. It’s what he does.

“And despite what he said in the letter he’ll be loving all this new publicity and be parading around his wing like a king.